Pulverized-fuel feeder.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

J. J. DE KINDER. PULVERIZED FUEL FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8, 1900.

H0 MODEL.

Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH J. DE KINDER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PULVERlZED-FU EL FEEDER.

SPECIFlGAllON formingpart of Letters Patent No. 728,934, dated May 26, 1903.

Application filed October 8, 1900. Serial No. 32,365. (No model.)

To all 1072,0722, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPHJ. DE KINDER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Pulverized-Fnel Feeder, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for feeding pulverized fuel to steam-boiler and other furnaces, with the general object in view of providing what I term a self-contained apparatusvi7.., one in which provision is made for feeding pulverized coal into the furnace of a steam-boiler for the purpose of producing and maintaininga fire under or within the boiler until steam is produced sullicient to actuate the motor which drives the pulverizer and blower without requiring the motor of the feeding apparatus to be operated in the beginning from a source of power foreign to the boiler which is under the control of the furnace which it (the feeding apparatus) is intended to feed. lVhere the appara: tus comprises as one of its elements a motor, which although independent in its action of the engine to be driven by steam from the boiler under the control of the furnace fed by the apparatus is still made to rely upon steam from the said boiler to actuate it, and hence the pulverizer and blower, which form other elements of the apparatus, it has been the practice to start the motor by using steam from some boiler other than the oneto which the apparatus is particularly applied, and where no such boiler producing steam was within reach time and labor have been consumed in building a fire in the furnace sufficient to make steam in the boiler before the motor of the apparatus could be brought into action. My present invention is intended to provide simple and practical means for obviating these requirements and making the apparatus essentially a self-contained apparatus under the control of the operator to start and maintain fire up to the point where steam is produced in the boiler sufficient to actuate the motor of the apparatus.

A practical embodiment of my inventiorr'is represented in the accompanying drawings, in whicl1 Figure l is a view of the feeding apparatus in side elevation, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line A A of Fig. 1 looking toward the left as the drawing is held 'in reading, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line B B of Fig. 1 looking toward the left as the drawing is held in reading.

The general type of apparatus to which my improvements are directed is'that'shown, described, and claimed in the Thomas Asencio application, Serial No. 14,530, my present invention contemplating in addition to the elements therein recited the introduction of a reservoir for pulverized fuel, which for convenience I term the startingreservoir,

and means for rotating the blower-shaft either independently of or together with the motorshaft by hand to force by suitable interven-' ing mechanism thepulverized material from the starting-reservoir into the fan or blower chamber and thence into the furnace to support combustion until steam is produced in the boiler.

'The barrel or casing for receiving the ro tary heaters or pulverizers is denoted by a. The blower or fan chamber in communication with the pulverizer-casing and forming a continuation thereof is denoted by b, and the starting-reservoir, consisting of an annular chamber located in proximity to the fan or blower chamber, is denoted by c. The shaft which carries the heaters and which is connected with the motor is denoted by cl. The blower is mounted on a hollow shaft or sleeve 2, surrounding the shaft d. Suitable shaft-bearings e and f are provided on a base g, the bearingf being in the present instance, as a matter of convenience, located within the space surrounded by the annular starting-reservoir c and utilizing the interior wall of the reservoir-casing as its immediate support, as clearly shown.

My present invention is not directed to any specific form of pulverizer fan or motor, it

being understood that these parts may be of any well-known or approved form suitable for the purpose.

The motor (indicated at it) is represented as a rotary steam-turbine, and its shaft i may be a prolongation of the shaft d of the pulverizer or may be connected with it in any well-known or approved manner. The blowershaft 2 and the motor or pulverizer shaft 71 or (I, one or both, are arranged to be connected ICC . starting-reservoir.

and disconnected at pleasure by a clutch j, of any well-known or approved form, whereby the one or the other of the shaftsviz., the motor-shaft or the shaft carrying the fan-may be rotated independently of the other or the two may be rotated together, as found desirable.

A partition-wall is is interposed between the fan or blower chamber and the annular starting-reservoir, through which Wall radial openings Z are formed, the said radial openings Z being arranged in a direction oblique to the plane of the wall for the purpose of directing a flow of the pulverized fuel through the openings into the starting-reservoir when opened. The said "openings Z may be partially or entirely closed at pleasure by means of a sliding damper m, operated by a handle q2,projectingthrough the periphery wallof the The starting-reservoir is provided with a depression atits bottom, in which a feed-screwp operates, the said feedscrew extending through an opening in the wall It and into the fan or blower chamber for the purpose of forcing the pulverized fuel from the starting-reservoir into the blower or fan chamber. To prevent the material within the starting-reservoir from becoming jam med and bridging the space occupied by the feedscrew, I provide a rotary agitator q, of any well-known or approved form, the shaft of which projects through the end wall of the starting-reservoir and is provided with a sprocket drive wheel 0", preferably in the same plane with the sprocket drive-wheel s on the projecting end of the feed-screw p. A driving sprocket-wheel t is mounted in convenient proximity to the shaft d, in the present instance on a bracket to, uprising from the base, the said wheel t being provided with an operating-handle 'v, projecting laterally therefrom for convenience in turning the wheel by hand. The said wheel i is connected with a sprocket-pinion w on the hollow shaft 2 by means of the sprocket-chain 0a, and a small sprocket-wheel y on the shaft of the wheel 25 is connected, by means of a sprocketchain .2, with the sprocket-wheels r and s on the shafts of the agitator and screw-feed, respectively. The starting-reservoir is further provided with a door 1 at its top for the purpose of introducing a charge of pulverized fuel by hand whenever occasion may demand.

The starting-reservoir having been filled or charged with pulverized fuel, either during the operation of the pulverizer and fan or by hand, the fire may be temporarily maintained in the furnace by simply disconnecting the motor-shaft from the shaft carrying the blower or fan and placing the sprocket-wheel t in gear with the shaft 2 and with the screwfeed and agitator, then turning the wheelt by hand, and thereby simultaneously operating the blower, screw-feed, and agitator, to force the pulverized fuel first from the starting-reservoir into the fan or blower chamber and thence by the rotary movement of the fan send it, together with a proper quantity of air, into the fire-chamber. As soon as steam is made in the boiler suflicient to operate the motor the wheel tmay be thrown out of gear with the blower-shaft and the said blower-shaft connected with the motor-shaft, and the motor may then be set in operation to do the work of pulverizing and discharging the pulverized material into the furnace as may be required. When the apparatus is in operation under the control of the motor, the openings from the fan or blower chamber into the starting-reservoir may be closed by means of the damper 11. except for such a time as may be required to charge the starting-reservoir with pulverized fuel ready for again starting up the furnace when it shall be required.

It will be understood that while I prefer to disconnect the blower-shaft from the pulverizer and motor shaft or shafts during the operation of starting the fire in the furnace such disconnection is not essential, as the motor might be turned by hand,together with the blower and pulverizer heaters. It is also obvious that changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence Ido not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein set forth; but

What I claim is 1. A fuel-feeding apparatus comprising a rotary pulverizer and blower, a starting-reservoir in proximity to the blower-chamber, an opening between the blower-chamber and starting-reservoir for thepassage of pulverized fuel from the blower-chamber into the starting-reservoir,and means for opening and closing said opening, a screw for forcing the pulverized fuel from the starting-reservoir into the blower-chamber and hand-operated gear for operating the said screw-feed and blower-shaft, a motor and means for connecting the motor to and disconnecting it from the blower, substantially as set forth.

2. A fuel-feeding apparatus comprising a rotary blower, a motor, a starting-reservoir, means for opening and closing communication between the blower-chamber and starting-reservoir, means for forcing the pulverized fuel through the starting-chamber into the blower-chamber, an agitator and handoperated means for operating the blower, agitator and force-feed independently of the driving force of the motor, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 3d day of October, 1900.

JOSEPH J. DE KINDER. 

